Job Discussion Forums

[PKB]

I found this in a TEFL cert. FAQ:

[Placebo]

Good question, PKB!

There have been a lot of controversial debates regarding this issue and I'm happy somebody finally is brave enough to mention this in this forum.

By Thai law, all foreign teachers are required to wear pale blue shirts in their first year of teaching. After completing their probational period and depending on their evaluation they are then allowed to wear the traditional dark blue shirt.

Teachers who do not pass the probational period at the first time need to wear white shirts until they completed the extended probational period. (I was always wondering why most English teachers I saw on the street were wearing white shirts. Now I know....)

Hope this helps!

[Sheep-Goats]

There's no Thai law requiring you to wear a certain colored shirt! Some folks will fall for that kind of scarcasm, be careful.

The only color mandate here is an implicit rather than explicit one, and it applies only to university faculty -- white shirts are preferred. This is simply because it shows you're in harmony with the student body, who are required (as undergrads) to wear a uniform which includes a white top. But many faculty memebers at some universities don't worry that much about this.

Many schools here, however, do have a uniform or set of strictish dress guidelines. My school, for example, requires white shirts on Monday along with the school-issed tie -- but on other days it's up to you, so long as you're wearing a shirt, tie, and dress pants. I imagine most schools have a similar set of rules -- with stricter rules being the exception rather than the norm.

Beware that in every country around the globe and adminstrator's opinion of you will be based 90% or so on your appearance alone. So it's worth it to kowtow in this reguard if you plan to stick around at all.

[kenkannif]

^ Yeah no law for blue shirts (although I had to think about it for a while).

LoL, nice wind up Placebo!

[PKB]

Specifying dress shirts makes perfect sense, specifying a white dress shirt makes sense, but specifically mentioning "pale blue"' struck me as an unusual recommendation/requirement. I didn't know if it reflected the FAQ writers aesthetic tastes or actually had some cultural or professional significance. I have not seen this stated elsewhere, however. I am assuming that a white button down is acceptable. Not that this is really important, I was just curious. Thanks.

[Placebo]

Alright, alright... I was only joking!

Didn't mean to ridicule you or your question but if they tell you to wear a pale blue shirt then just do it.

Some things in Thailand are just straight out weird and unexplainable...

As Sheep-Goats already said, you can never go wrong with a white shirt.

[Sheep-Goats]

[bluffer]

what site was that from ?

I dont own a white shirt at all. For me it makes no sense in such a dirty polluted city as Bangkok where 1 minute after leaving the apartment with a nice clean new shirt I rub against a wall to avoid a car and then find I have a lovely grey dirt streak along a sleeve or back or front.

4 shades of blue and one sort of rust redish / pinkish for me. ( or is that chartruse? )

[Gluestick]

I kinda like my white shirts.

[isanity]

Blue shirts, because blue whiteboard markers. Duh.

[mr.bojangles]

YIKES! leaving NZ where black is quite common to Thailand. I guess I will be boiling...

[joe beets]

^Wear all black and folks will think you're in mourning.
Outward appearances are huge here, and it's frighteningly easy to send the wrong message.
Not only won't you be cool, you won't look all that cool either.
Bring one - in case someone - you know...

Leave the rest.

jb